Views from the South Side of the Windy City.

Let's hope they can hang on to this guy in Du Page County now that they have him. Hopefully they will have extra guards around him. This was the big story in Northern Illinois, you could not turn on a TV or radio without hearing all kinds of tidbits, constantly updated on it. The press conferences on this were nothing compared to the Mayor Welch way of conferences. These conferences were short, and without blow by blow details.

Robert Maday, the career criminal who was the subject of a massive manhunt in the west and northwest suburbs after escaping from custody Thursday, was apprehended Friday after a police chase ended in a crash in West Chicago.

Maday crashed the stolen Volkswagen Jetta he was driving at James Avenue and Route 59, according to Bloomingdale police.Robert Maday was caught in West Chicago on Friday after he crashed the stolen Volkswagen Jetta he was driving.

A crowd of about 80 spectators at Route 59 and James Avenue clapped and cheered as Maday was driven away in an ambulance.

Nicole Bratko, 29, of St. Charles, was driving home on Route 59, about to turn onto James Avenue when she saw squad cars with flashing lights coming toward her.

Then she saw the Jetta coming up behind her.

She said the Jetta clipped the back of a black Jeep, smashed into a traffic light and then went through some bushes and into a yard on James Avenue.

"It was like a movie when the cops came out," she said. "He clipped the Jeep and then he hit the pole. The pole flipped up like a toy. Then he went through the bushes, then all of a sudden, the cops cam with their guns drawn."

She credited officers for their quick action.

"I have to say the cops were right on top of it," she said. "I'm still shaking. I was afraid we were going to get shot."

Bratko said the driver of the Jeep was injured, too. Both he and Maday were taken on stretchers to waiting ambulances.

Goergen said West Chicago police officers spotted the Volkswagen and gave chase.

"Mr. Maday is in custody. He was involved in a chase, a pursuit, with West Chicago police who did a fine job spotting the vehicle," he said.

The West Chicago police officer initially pulled Maday over into the parking lot of a Taco Bell on Route 59 near West Chicago's downtown, said West Chicago Deputy Chief Bruce Malkin.

His gun drawn, the officer approached Maday, who bolted north of Route 59 in the Jetta before eventually crashing. He was taken to Central Dupage Hospital and is expected to be released today.

"He will not get away," said Kim Widup, U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Illinois.

Both stolen weapons were recovered, including one from Maday's waist band, Widup said.

On Friday, Maday also allegedly included hijacking the Jetta from a woman in Hoffman Estates and robbing a bank in west suburban Bloomingdale, a bank the FBI said he robbed in 2008.

"I'm the guy that's been on the news -- give me the money," Paul Bock, supervisory agent for the FBI, quoted Maday as telling an employee at The First American Bank, 80 Stratford Drive, around 9 a.m. Friday, according to the FBI's Chicago office.

Earlier Friday morning, Hoffman Estates Sgt. Greg Poulos said a woman was driving to her job in a business complex in the 2000 block of Hassel Road at 6:45 a.m. and saw a man sitting on the curb.

As she opened the door, the man approached her, showed her a gun and she gave him her car, Poulos said.

She later identified the carjacker as Maday, Poulos said. He was last seen driving the Jetta west on Hassel Road toward Barrington Road.

The witness told police he was wearing blue jeans, a green T-shirt and a white baseball cap with lettering.

Schools throughout the west and northwest suburbs were on lockdown Friday morning, according to information on the district Web sites.

Sally Daly, spokeswoman for the Cook County State's Attorney's office, said police spent the night and morning combing the suburbs for any sign of Maday, following up on tips pouring in to local police stations.

"We want to bring an end to the disruption that has occurred in the northwest suburban communities," she said. "Understandably

6 Comments:

Hey Third, I thought I heard that the car this guy was in was an older one that did not have the 'cage' thing in the back. It was closer to a regular car where there was nothing keeping him in the backseat from reaching into the front seat, and therefore, one of the officers was in the back seat with him. Instead of punishing the cops, maybe someone should have gotten the car the right kind of equipment? If I heard right, there is no way a creep like this should have been riding in a 'cageless' car.

Yep, cageless car....but remember the news around this town, you hear bits and pieces and parts, and when the whole story comes out it is different.Just like Chris Kelly, that story changed so much even in one day. But thanks to Mayor Welch...cough, cough of Country Club Hills and his blow by blow press conference....